Tag Archives: Southern Literature

A Gathering of Old Men

Posted on May 7, 2021 by smellincoffee

A Gathering of Old Men© 1983 Ernest Gaines213 pages There’s a white man dead in the quarter, and by sundown there may be another body swinging from the trees. Most of the people in the quarter don’t know why Beau … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics and Literary, Reviews | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Cold Sassy Tree

Posted on February 24, 2021 by smellincoffee

Cold Sassy Tree© 1984 Olive Ann Burns391 pages “I know now the difference between a writer and an author. A  writer writes, and an author speaks.”   Those words came from Leaving Cold Sassy, an unfinished sequel to this work … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics and Literary, Reviews | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe

Posted on February 2, 2021 by smellincoffee

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe© 1987 Fannie Flagg416 pages “You know, a heart can be broken, but it keeps on beating, just the same.” Evelyn Couch is too young to feel this old. Despairing and lonely, she … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , | 6 Comments

The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop

Posted on January 26, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop© 2020 Fannie Flagg304 pages One of my favorite movies growing up was Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle-Stop Cafe: why on Earth this movie became a favorite in my very sheltered household, I cannot … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Reviews | Tagged | 3 Comments

Where I Come From

Posted on January 22, 2021 by smellincoffee

Where I Come From: Stories from the Deep South© 2020 Rick Bragg256 pages What a joy Rick Bragg is to read! A native son of Alabama, Rick Bragg is a journalist-turned-folklorist in the tradition of Kathryn Tucker Windham, who here … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Why Rick Bragg Writes

Posted on January 22, 2021 by smellincoffee

Quoted from Where I Come From, by Rick Bragg: “I write about home so I can be certain someone will. It is not much more complicated than that.”  “Home is not a thing of position, or standing. My home is … Continue reading →

Posted in quotations | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Autobiogaphy of Miss Jane Pittman

Posted on January 13, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman259 pages© 1982 Ernest Gaines A young girl carries water for both exhausted rebels and the jubilant army chasing them.  An elderly lady who has seen sorrow after sorrow visited on herself and her loved … Continue reading →

Posted in Classics and Literary, Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

The Old Man and the Boy

Posted on January 11, 2021 by smellincoffee

The Old Man and the Boy© 1957 Robert Ruark303 pages Of the various titles on my Classics Club Strikes back list, The Old Man and the Boy is something of an outlier; I’d venture to say that most people haven’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Where the Crawdads Sing

Posted on January 24, 2020 by smellincoffee

Where the Crawdads Sing © 2018 Delia Owens 368 pages ‘There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot.’”  – Aldous Leopold, The Sand County Almanac They called her the Marsh Girl. Abandoned in a decaying … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

A Lesson Before Dying

Posted on November 15, 2019 by smellincoffee

A Lesson Before Dying © 1993 Ernest Gaines 256 pages “And that’s all we are Jefferson, all of us on this earth, a piece of drifting wood. until we – each of us, individually- decide to become something else. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment